Plagues, Pestilences and Diseases
OVER-65'S HIT BY DEADLY SKIN CANCER TIME-BOMB
Sunbathing can have a deadly cancer legacy decades later if the skin is
not properly protected from
Tuesday November 30,2010
By Jo Willey
The Daily Express UK
BABY boomers taken away to the sun during the Seventies foreign holiday
craze are dying from skin cancer in record numbers, according to new
figures.
The over-65s are failing to visit their GP when they spot telltale
signs, sending death rates soaring.
The numbers of pensioners killed by malignant melanoma have almost
tripled from four deaths per 100,000 in 1979 to 11.4 deaths in 2008.
But the figures for the 15-64 age group are stable at around two deaths
per 100,000.
The skin cancer timebomb is exploding 30 years after sunny holidays
abroad became popular with the parents of those now being hit by the
deadliest form of the disease.
According to Cancer Research UK, part of the reason is that older
people are not asking their GP to check changes to moles and skin.
As a result, the over-65s are more likely to be diagnosed when the
cancer is more advanced and has spread to other areas of the body.
Skin cancer is easily treated if caught early. But of the over-65s
diagnosed with malignant melanoma, around 20 per cent have late stage
malignant melanoma, which is usually fatal. This compares with around
seven per cent aged 15 to 64.
Malignant melanoma kills around 2,000 people a year in the UK – more
than in Australia. About 10,000 new cases are recorded annually, with
rates quadrupling in the past 30 years.
Caroline Cerny, SunSmart campaign manager for Cancer Research UK, said:
“While the risk increases with age, the fact that so many over-65s are
diagnosed when the disease is advanced means that older people need to
keep a close eye on changes to their skin or moles.
“If a mole is as big as a pencil-top eraser, bleeds, is sore or itchy,
uneven in colour or has jagged edges then people should visit their GP
without delay.”
Dr Jem Rashbass, director of the East of England Cancer Registry, which
compiled some of the data, said late diagnosis was likely to be down to
a combination of factors.
He added that it was important to find the reasons for the delays.
Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said:
“It can take decades for skin cancer to develop so it is vitally
important for young people to be aware that not protecting their skin
from sunburn can increase the risk of melanoma later in life. Melanoma
is a largely preventable disease; people can reduce their chance of
getting skin cancer if they protect their skin from sunburn.
“The damage to skin cells shown by sunburn can remain long after the
redness fades.”
Earlier this year it emerged that the package holiday boom in the
Seventies meant that those in their 60s and 70s were five times more
likely to be diagnosed with the deadliest form of the disease than
their parents were.
The mantra of “sunburn before suntan” was common in the Seventies,
which was the decade that sunbeds arrived in the UK.
ARTHRITIS DRUG OFFERS HOPE
A CONTROVERSIAL arthritis drug could be used to prevent skin cancer
developing, research has found.
Painkiller Celecoxib cut the chance of pre-cancerous abnormal cells
generating non-melanoma skin tumours.
The drug, marketed in the UK under the name Celebrex, is one of a range
called Cox-2s used by 1.4 million Britons.
Four years ago research suggested Celecoxib might increase the risk of
heart attacks and strokes.
US scientists conducting the new study looked at the effect of the drug
on 240 people with pre-cancerous skin damage.
Dr Craig Elmets from the University of Alabama, whose findings were
published by the National Cancer Institute, said: “Celecoxib-treated
individuals developed fewer non-melanoma skin cancers.”